Second Try is a 60-minute Charm

As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I had bought a single 12 oz. bottle of Dogfish Head 60-minute IPA at a local liquor store. Unfortunately, when I had gotten home I realized the stamp on the bottle neck said "bottled 10/14/06," which meant I had it over 6 months after bottling. What I suspected, and found out, was that this renowned IPA lost pretty much any semblance of an IPA after this amount of time. So I tried once more. No I didn't go back to buy a new bottle because that store only had the 10/14/06 bottles. So in a trade with another fellow BA'er I obtained another DFH 60-minute IPA, along with a few other things.

First the contents of that trade (in exchange for a Cuvee de Tomme)-
Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA
Great Divide Hercules DIPA
Great Divide Titan IPA
Dale's Pale Ale
Terrapin Rye Pale Ale
Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA

So back onto the subject of this Dogfish Head 60-minute IPA. I was worried as I unwrapped my shipment because when I took the bubble wrap off the 60-minute it was a bit wet, and when I got to the bottle the label was soaked and smelled like beer that had been poured on the sidewalk and left in the heat for a day. However, the bottle was still filled pretty far, up into the neck, so I guess it was only a slight cap malfunction. I popped it in the fridge as fast as I could and waited until now.

The anxiety of knowing whether I was going to be 0-for-2 on DFH-60 was a bit to much to wait any longer. I popped off the cap to only a tiny fizzle of carbonation. Not a good sign. From that point on it was a completely different story. The beer poured with a very nice amount of carbonation, seeding a light, airy, semi-frothy two finger head. The color was outstanding- a clear rich golden (picture makes it look darker and a shade of red) and a bright white head. The smell isn't breathtaking, but at least you will know you are about to get yourself into an IPA. The taste is another matter, lightly malty, caramel-y, hoppy earthiness, and a mildly bitter lingering finish. This is one of the more drinkable IPA's I've come across, if not the most. So thankfully this turned out ok, because if it hadn't I might have given up on DFH 60-minute IPA forever. I gave it a 4.45 on BA.